


Wind Chimes

by Elveny



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Origins
Genre: Fic or Treat, Fic or Treat 2019, Gen, Halloween, Haunted place, ghost story
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-27
Updated: 2019-10-27
Packaged: 2021-01-04 10:47:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,093
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21196415
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elveny/pseuds/Elveny
Summary: Fereldan's forests are haunted by more than darkspawn and werewolves...





	Wind Chimes

**Author's Note:**

  * For [isthepartyover](https://archiveofourown.org/users/isthepartyover/gifts).

> This little story was written for the _Fic or Treat_ exchange on Tumblr and features isthepartyover's Warden Alex Cousland. It was inspired by an actual local story where such a place is haunted by the spirits of hundreds of massacred druids, slain by Charlemagne when he was trying to convert the country to Christianity.

“No, stop.”

The group came to a halt, and Alex threw Morrigan a confused look. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary as far as the Warden could see, and judging from the looks the others exchanged, neither could they. The trees stretched on both sides of the small road they had followed for the last three days already, the autumn air crisp and silent leaves falling. It was late afternoon already and the evening stretched foggy fingers through the woods that crawled over the ground towards them. Through the trees, they could see a few rocks covered by moss; all that remained of what looked like a collapsed structure.

Alistair rolled his eyes and scoffed as he saw Morrigan take her staff and look around cautiously.

“What now? Another _feeling_ that you— ouch!” He jerked back as the witch zapped him slightly, her golden eyes throwing daggers at him.

“’Tis not a mere _feeling_, Alistair,” she said stiffly. “There has been a great evil here, and its echo linger still. Something is out there.”

For a moment, the group fell silent, Alistair rubbing at his elbow with an offended look where her electric spark had hit him. Only the wind could be heard as it picked up, sending a gush of coldness through them. The leaves rustled ominously, and a strange clattering made them look up.

“Wind chimes,” Wynne said softly. A sense of relief spread through them, and Leliana let out an audible breath.

“What’re wind chimes?” Oghren asked, drawing his eyebrows together in confusion.

It was Leliana who answered. “Oh, of course, you wouldn’t have them below,” she smiled. “They’re a sort of musical instrument, in a sense. Hung outside where the wind can play them.”

Oghren grunted and squinted at the chimes hung in the trees above that clattered ominously. “Doesn’t sound like music to me,” he grumbled.

“Hm, yes,” Zevran agreed, tilting his head as he followed the dwarf’s eyes. “But then, they’re not normally made from bones, no?”

Leliana and Wynne both drew in a sharp breath, and even Sten shifted his weight with a look of discomfort as he eyed the thin, bleached bone chimes above.

Morrigan ignored the chatter and took another few steps away from the group. Alex followed her, one hand on a dagger and looked around. The twilight beneath the trees had deepened, but apart from the falling leaves, nothing moved in the deepening shadows.

“I don’t see anything, Morrigan,” she said after a moment of tense silence, “and I don’t sense any darkspawn either. Are you sure there is—“

She was interrupted by a little squeal as Leliana nearly jumped a step forward. Immediately, the whole group drew their weapons, the shimmer of a barrier springing into life around them at a gesture by Wynne.

Leliana had a hand on her neck as she swirled around with wide eyes. “Something touched me!” she hissed, reaching for her bow, but before she could string an arrow, Oghren let out a loud laugh.

“You should have seen your face! Got you good, this time.”

A collective groan made its way through them as they put their weapons away. Alistair gave Oghren a cuff on the back of his head as he walked by him to come and stand next to Alex with a shake of his head.

“So, what you say, camp over by the rocks?” he asked, standing just a little bit too close for it to be casual.

Morrigan rolled her eyes at the way Alex’s smile softened slightly, but then a thought came to her, and suddenly, she was tense again.

“I remember now,” she said, looking over to the moss-covered fallen-in cairn. “We can’t stay here.”

“Why, because of the chimes?” Alistair asked, looking up into the trees with a frown. “I admit, they sound creepy, but don’t tell me you’re afraid of them.” A teasing grin came onto his lips. “Don’t worry, Morrigan. I can cut them down for you.” He leaned forward with a conspiratorial look. “I won’t even tell the others, promise.”

Alex elbowed him into the side with a chiding look, but he didn’t seem bothered.

But for once, Morrigan paid him no heed and shook her head. “’Tis not the chimes, Alistair. But my mother told me about this place.” Her voice took on a dark note, and she conjured a flame in her hand against the deepening darkness that had started to fall. “A long time ago, ’tis was a holy place for the Chasind — until the Chantry, in a try to convert them, slaughtered hundreds of shamans and holy women at this place.” She looked at the rocks with a strained expression on her face. “Their spirits still haunt this place, and the wind carries their screams still. We cannot linger here.”

As if to underline her words, the wind picked up, and the clattering of the chimes above intensified. Leliana had come to stand next to Morrigan, and a shiver went over her. “Those poor souls,” she said softly, looking towards the rocks.

Behind her, Wynne let out an annoyed sound. “Oghren, stop it. Once was quite enough!”

They turned to look at her and saw her rub a hand over her neck, just like Leliana had done. Her eyebrows were drawn together as she searched for Oghren.

“I didn’t do nothing,” the dwarf grunted from the other side of their group, and Wynne’s eyes widened. Zevran, who stood next to Wynne, held up both hands.

“Don’t look at me,” he said, shaking his head. “I would never.”

Leliana and Alistair exchanged a look that held more alarm than either of them would admit to, then Alistair straightened. “Right,” he said, nodding vigorously, one hand on his sword as he looked at his Grey Warden companion. “Alex. Shall we move on?”

Morrigan gave him a _look_, and the corner of her lip curled slightly. “Who’s afraid now, Alistair? Want me to cut those chimes for you?”

Alistair bristled immediately. “Hey, I’m —“

Alex sighed, then she interrupted them before they started to squabble — again. “Let’s move on,” she said in the voice that everybody knew and that didn’t allow for disagreement. “And nobody touches those chimes, alright?”

As the night deepened and the shine of the torches flickered over the trees, the clattering of the chimes disappeared behind them, but the feeling of being watched lingered even as the wind stopped. She did not tell the others about the feeling of a cold hand touching her neck as they went past the rocks.


End file.
